This application is not related to any pending applications.
This application is not referenced in any microfiche appendix.
This invention in general relates to an improved horse shoeing hammer and more particularly, but not limited to, an improved farrier hammer for driving a horse nail through a horse shoe and hoof of a horse and wringing and displacing the projecting end of the horsenail once so driven via a uniquely shaped hammer claw comprising a rectangular shaped hiatus.
To secure a horse shoe to the hoof of a horse, a horsenail is driven through an appropriately dimensioned aperture in the horse shoe and through the outer portion of the horse""s hoof. A farrier""s hammer is normally utilized for driving the nail, and when the nail has been properly driven, the sharp or pointed outer end thereof typically projects from the hoof and must be removed in order to preclude interference with the walking or running of the horse. This projecting portion of the horsenail is often cut away through the use of side cutters, and other well known cutting tools. Most often, however, a farrier typically employs the claw portion of hammers of the present art to remove the projecting portion of the horsenail. In practice, the claw portion of existing farrier hammers incorporate a V-shaped tapered opening wherein the projecting portion of the nail is wedged into the narrowest fitting portion of said taper and the horsenail where because of the nails right-angled dimensions can be twisted off at the hoof. The repeated forcing of said shaped horsenails into the narrowest portion of the wedge-shaped opening of contemporary farrier hammers, in time, causes the claw portions of contemporary hammers to wedge apart and further distance themselves from one another. More importantly, this limitation of present art hammers allows for the twisted off portion of the projecting horsenails to remain lodged in the claw portion of the hammer. When so lodged, the farrier must take time away from the horse shoeing operation to manually displace said wedged horsenail portions or suffer the inefficient and ineffectual practices attendant to present art claw shaped horsenail removal means. Such inefficient removal via twisting of the projecting horsenail with present art hammers further risks damage to the horse""s hoof. Consequently, the rough portion of the nail usually remains on the outer periphery of the hoof with the outer end of the nail being bent or otherwise damaged which further makes it difficult to remove the nail when it is necessary to remove the horse""s shoe for any reason. Should the remaining portion of the nail be left unattended, it further presents a hazard to the horse, other horses or pedestrians making contact with the sharp edges of the projecting member of the portion of the nail.
Purported improvements to hammers are known and represented in the prior art. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,623 issued on Aug. 31, 1875 to D. W. Parker discloses a improvement in claw-hammers.
U.S. Pat. No. 177,386 issued on May 16, 1876 to E. A. Ely discloses a hammer which will cut and clear a passage down by the sides of a nail and draw it out when the head has been driven into the wood.
U.S. Pat. No. 585,123 issued on Jun. 22, 1897 to A. W. Severance discloses a combination tool which can be used as a claw-hammer, a wrench for various kinds of nuts, for driving spikes and for various other purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,108,766 issued on Aug. 25, 1914 to P. J. Leavens discloses a nail extracting claw in which the gripping jaws are provided with biting edges so as to adapt them to bite into and grip the cylindrical surface of the nail and not be dependent upon engagement beneath a head or enlargement of the nail.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,324 issued on Feb. 8, 1972 to Laurence W. Porter, subsequently assigned to Vaughan and Bushnell Mfg. Co. discloses a hammer head having an antislip and wear-resistant striking face surface. The forged steel hammer head including an impact head proper having a striking face on one end thereof is provided with a layer of tungsten carbide electrodeposited on the end, forming an outer surface on the striking face and penetrating the impact head proper, thereby providing an antislip and wear-resistant surface on the striking face.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,130 issued on Apr. 29, 1980 to John C. Reamy discloses a farrier""s hammer for attaching a horse shoe to the hoof of a horse and having a head member at one end for driving the nail through the shoe and a portion of the hoof and a claw member at the opposite end for wringing the projecting end of the nail cleanly at the outer periphery of the hoof and ejecting the severed portion of the nail from the claw.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,478 issued on Dec. 23, 1980 to James F. Wilson discloses a compact hammer with recessed face and notched claw. The recess in one modification is formed by having four isosceles triangular slanted sections extending inward from the outer edge of the face. In another modification the face has a curved recess. The hammer head has flat exterior side surfaces and the head is positional close to the center line of the handle. The hammer claw has a rectangular notch between the two claw fingers, making the claw especially adaptable for disengaging tie-wire loops or bolt ends with slots in their outer ends. The hammer is useful for driving objects such as nails, pins, and wedges, and is especially useful in work involving concrete forms.
The present invention contemplates a novel and improved farrier hammer for removing the projecting portion of a horsenail once a horse shoe has been attached to the hoof has been particularly designed and constructed for overcoming the foregoing disadvantage. The novel hammer comprises a main body portion having a central aperture or bore extending longitudinally for securing the hammer head to the usual handle and a head member having a working surface on the outer end thereof for driving the horsenail through the shoe and hoof in a usual and well known manner practiced by those skilled in the art. The present invention contemplates and teaches a unique and novel claw member which enhances the art, projects outwardly from the main body in an opposite direction from the head member and is of a particular hollow configuration for cooperating with the jaws of the claw to provide a clean and effective wringing, severing and displacing of the projecting portion of the horsenail. Said improved claw member incorporates, as distinguished from hammers of the present art, a uniquely designed rectangular opening appropriately sized to accommodate the square or rectangular shaped shank or shaft portion of a horsenail. Said improved rectangular shaped opening between the claws of the improved hammer allow for simple and efficient operation, and economical and durable repeated use of the improved farrier hammer absent limitations of present art hammers.
A major object of the instant invention is to provide an improved farrier hammer which allows for the clean and efficient twisting, severing and displacing of a projecting horsenail means once driven through a horse shoe and horse hoof.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide for an improved farrier hammer which presents an essentially rectangular hiatus to eliminate the V-shaped hiatus of contemporary hammers.
It is yet a further object of the instant invention to eliminate the wedging apart of hammer claws whenever one or more severed horsenails are wedged into the narrowest portion of the V-shaped hiatus associated with contemporary farrier hammers.
Other objects and further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals.